Strengthening Intercostal Muscles?

Okay okay, so I fully admit that I'm a wus. An old wus that takes forever to heal. But does anyone have any good exercises to suggest, for strenghtening intercostal muscles. I was sparring with a senior fighter last week and took a round house kick to the back of my rib cage. I should have just knee checked it, but I didn't. I tried to absorb it by rotating my body away from his shin, but it came in so fast that the impact caused a mild separation of my rib cage. A straining of my intercostal muscles. Now whenever I rotate my trunk, quickly, it feels like a rib pops out. It's nothing really too painful, just annoying. I know that with rest and time, everything will be fine. But does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to strengthen these muscles? Abdominal exercises, crunchs and obliques, pull downs, shoulder presses, good mornings, squats, dips, deadlifts, dumbell rows, etc... all seem to be of little influence, since I've been back to the gym and haven't felt any resistance doing any of these exercises.

1. Lateral shoulder raises, out to the side, can be cable or DB
2. Russian twists - http://www.bsu.edu/webapps/strengthl...s.asp?exid=126
3. Side Deadlifts
4. Don't know what you call this one;
Stand with feet shoulder width apart, do a single arm row but using your abdominal muscles simultaneously to bring the weight up.

That's pretty much what I was afraid of. Rest and heavy breathing is all that I can do for them, until they "fix" themselves.

I tried some lat pull downs, but they didn't really effect my intercostals. And abdominal oblique exercises don't seem to work anything in the back of the rib cage either. The side lifts that Pizdoff was suggesting seem to be the closest thing that works them. They seem to stretch out my intercostals, I can feel them doing that, but they don't really contract the muscles.

Yeah, I'm sure there are things that I can do to help support them, while they heal on their own. And stretching is definitely helpful. I was just hoping that I could find an exercise that would contract them, something to strengthen them.

Originally posted by j416to I tried some lat pull downs, but they didn't really effect my intercostals. And abdominal oblique exercises don't seem to work anything in the back of the rib cage either. The side lifts that Pizdoff was suggesting seem to be the closest thing that works them. They seem to stretch out my intercostals, I can feel them doing that, but they don't really contract the muscles.

w00t!!! Half points!

OH OH I'VE GOT IT!!!
To work your intercostal muscles.You hang upside down, then do the lateral raises!!!!
*Lights flash and bells chime and confetti comes down and stuff*